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Rivers in the Himalaya

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Rivers in the Himalaya Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 82 No. 3 July Spl Issue 2016 pp. 763-772 Printed in India. DOI: 10.16943/ptinsa/2016/48483 Review Article Rivers in the Himalaya: Responses to Neotectonics and Past Climate PRADEEP SRIVASTAVA1,*, YOGESH RAY2, BINITA PHARTIYAL3 and Y P SUNDRIYAL3 1Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 GMs Road, Dehradun 248 001, India 2National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa 403 804, India 3Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany, University Road, Lucknow 22 6007, India 4Dept. of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar 246 174, India (Received on 12 April 2016; Accepted on 30 April 2016) Rivers in Himalaya respond to tectonics and climate of the region on different spatio-temporal scales. Here we present a brief account of Indian contribution, on the study pertaining to the fluvial record from Himalaya during 2011-2015. Total number of papers published in SCI journals and edited books are 64 where authors have mainly focused on the understanding of (i) extreme events and their terrain responses in Himalaya (ii) records of river aggradation-incision and the forcing factors (iii) geomorphic indicators of neotectonic deformation. Emphasis has also been made towards understanding the development of frontal belt of the Himalaya, sediment production, storage and delivery in the wedge. Keywords: Himalaya; Climate; Neotectonics and River Geomorphology Introduction (iii) river valley filling due to damming via landslides and surging glaciers. Himalaya is a continental scale geomorphic expression of thrust and fold belt tectonics that initiated with the During the last five years (2011-2015) Indian subduction and subsequent collision of Indian plate to contributions, that we summarize here, mainly focused Tibet. The process of orogeny involve forces that on (i) understanding the terrain response to extreme range from deep mantle to surface-atmosphere events (ii) responses to varying climate and tectonics interaction. Results of Global Positioning System on the landscape (iii) neotectonic growth of the kinematics indicate that the processes of crustal mountain front (iv) sediment dispersal and storage. deformation and mountain building in Himalaya and The study utilized new tools of tectonic geomorphology, the adjoining areas is still active and have been varying classical sedimentology, high resolution terrain during the recent past (Jade et al., 2007). Likewise, mapping, biological (pollen and phytoliths etc.) and a- the climate, a proxy of atmospheric processes have biological proxies (inorganic geochemistry, magnetic been significantly varying during the past effecting susceptibility and stable and non-conventional surface processes, river erosion, transportation, isotopes). The bulk of the chronological framework aggradation and readjustments of isostatic stresses relied upon Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and related deformation at different temporal and dating technique with few AMS radiocarbon ages. spatial scale (Ray and Srivastava, 2010; Juyal et al., 2010; Theide et al., 2004). Thusclimate and tectonic Geology and Climate stresses in Himalaya trigger extreme events, like earthquakes, landslides, cloud bursts, Glacial lakes The accretion of the Himalaya started from the outburst floods (GLOFs) and Landslide lake outburst suturing of two plates at ~54 Ma along the Indus suture floods (LLOFs). The fluvial landscape in the Zone (ISZ) and first thrusting event along the Main Himalaya, archive the signatures of these events in Central thrust (MCT) at ~23 Ma. Between the two form of their (i) Channel gradient, pattern (ii) terraces events sedimentation took place in a forearc basin *Author for Correspondence: E-mail: pradeep@wihg.res.in 764 Pradeep Srivastava et al. setting in north, preserved as Indus molasses in ranging from ~400 m at the mountain front to around Ladakh. This was proceeded by sedimentation in a 1000 m Siwalik hills to ~1200 m LH and >3000 m foreland setting in Siwalik basin in the front. The Indus Higher Himalaya. The orography of these ranges pick molasses got thrusted over Ladakh batholith along a up at two places first in the south between HFT and north vergent thrust often termed as the Indus Thrust MBT and then second above MCT (Bookhagen and or Upshi-Baso thrust at ~10 Ma (Brookfield et al., Burbank 2010). These orographic breaks make two 1984). The basal rocks of Indus molasses are marine belts of focused precipitation in Himalaya that extend sedimentaries and are succeeded by fluvial longitudinally from Kashmir Himalaya in the west and sedimentation towards the upper part. The geology Arunachal Himalaya in the East. Although, the of ISZ also comprises obducted crustal rocks and intensity of precipitation does changes markedly from ophiolitic melanges. In the south of ISZ, separated by west to east and shows an increasing trend from north vergent Zanskar Counter Thrust, lies ~10 km ~1500 mm/a in the west to >3000 mm/a in the east. thick, Palaeozoic-Mesozoic, un-metamorphosed Likewise a decreasing rainfall trend exists from south Tethyan sedimentaries. The Tethyan Himalaya to north; e.g. southern front of Garhwal Himalaya deformed under extensional tectonic regime and receives ~2200 mm/a whereas the Ladakh in north, shows presence of crystalline domes (like leo-pargil that lies in rain shadow of Himalaya, gets only~300 dome). Towards the south lies the Higher Himalayan mm/a of precipitation.Based on the structural crystallines (HHCs) which is bounded by South configuration and climate Himalayan rivers can be Tibetan Detachment system (STDS) in the north and broadly classified into two classes. (i) Arid NW and the Main Central Thrust (MCT) in the south. Ladakh Himalayan rivers that drain through the drier Metasediments of Lesser Himalaya lie between the climatic regime, flows parallel to ISZ. These rivers MCT and the south vergent Main Boundary Thrust are largely fed by the glacial melt and westerlies e.g. (MBT). The lesser Himalayan rocks are thrusted over the Indus and the Spiti. (ii) Rivers draining southern the deformed fluviatile Siwalik foreland basin sequence front of Himalaya and cutting major structural along the MBT that in turn are thrusted over the discontinuities such as the STDS, MCT, MBT and modern Ganga Alluvium along the Himalayan frontal HFT orthogonally e.g. the Sutlej, the Bhagirathi, the Thrust (HFT) (Valdiya, 1980). Alaknanda, and the Brahmaputra etc. The hydrology of these rivers is sustained by a combination of glacial Geomorphologically, cross section profile of melt and the precipitation contributed by the ISM and Himalaya shows marked variations in elevation Fig. 1: Geological map of Himalaya showing major rivers and litho-tectonic discontinuities (Gansser, 1964). (i) Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ), (ii) South Tibetan Detachment (STD), (iii) Main Central Thrust (MCT), (iv) Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), (v) Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) Rivers in the Himalaya: Responses to Neotectonics and Past Climate 765 the mid-latitude westerlies. However, those rivers river) indicated >300 mm rainfall in 24 hrs (Dobhal et which have their headwaters in the Lesser Himalaya al., 2013; Singh, 2013; Sati and Gahlaut, 2013) and and Siwalik are dominantly fed by the ISM. Fig. 1 satellite data analysis suggested ~600 mm of rainfall shows the geology and major rivers of Himalaya. in 36 hrs. This excess rainfall and snow melt contributed heavily to the discharge of river causing Terrain Response to Extreme Climatic Events massive flood, bank erosion and landslides in the region. As a result of this flood ~4000 people lost Besides several occurrences of cloud bursts and their lives and ~12000 crore of rupees of property landslides, the last half decade or so in Himalaya will was lost in the state of Uttarakhandand the magnitude, be known for two major devastating floods (i) August both in terms of hydromorphology and vulnerability, 2010 floods in Leh, Ladakh and (ii) June 2013 floods of this flood was highest as compared to past such in UttarakhandHimalaya. During 4-6 August 2010 a experiences from years 1893, 1894 and 1970 (Rana large part of Leh and Ladakh was affected by series et al., 2013; Ziegler et al., 2014).The post flood of cloud bursts and flash floods when >9000 people geomorphic studies along the rivers Mandakini and were affected and ~255 were reported dead and 71 Alaknanda indicated that this flood caused massive settlements were damaged. The cloud bursts occurred aggradation of the riverbed where the sediment was in the headwater region of southerly draining mainly sourced from moraines and fans located in tributaries of Indus River of Choglamsar, Saboo and trans-Himalayan region and large landslides in Higher Phyangnalas (streams). The modelled hydrograph, and Lesser Himalaya. The study also highlighted the based on field observations indicated that in these bulking of river at places was caused due to the nalas the flood magnitudes were more than an order erosion of the power project generated muck of magnitude high than the base flows (Thayyen et (Sundriyal et al., 2015). An interesting study using al., 2013). Pre and Post event analysis of satellite geomorphic parameters like river long profile and data of flood effected area indicated that as result of steepness index suggested that the loci and pattern of mudslides, mudflows channels broke into their flood damages during the extreme events are predictable plains and the width of streams got widened by > 25 and that the areas with rapid erosion are highly sensitive times (average
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